Hello,
So today I walked into a field with my mum and dog (public walkway) and for the last maybe 2 months there has been this old pony in their that I didn't really take too much notice off apart from it has quite a sunken back.

But this afternoon when walking through (haven't walked through the field for about 3 weeks) we noticed that the pony has lost a lot of weight!! I study L3 horse management and i would give the condition score maybe 0-1?!! looking under the thick coat you can feel ribs, the pelvis is a massive indent and very skinny.. I checked the pony's teeth and it doesn't seem to have very many at all and then i picked some grass and the pony did eat it but a lot fell out.

The horse doesn't look neglected in the sense that its feet are not overgrown, and it does have water and what looked like a feed bucket with something in there but it was the other side of the pond (field is kind of split in 2 with a pond dividing most or all of it) and i am not sure whether the pony can walk back across?

Sorry this is so long, but I guess the real question is do old horses get that skinny is that normal??? i mean it might sound obvious but i just don't want the horse to suffer any longer if it is

Can you ask the Owner? Some old horses do get very skinny, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes one of those reasons is lack of food though. The polite thing (and proper thing, in my mind) is to politely ask the owners what's going on before reporting them. It may be that they are doing everything they can already, or it may be they have stopped caring for him and you do need to call. Hard to tell without speaking to them though.

When horses get skinny, old and are toothless, they are not enjoying life. If their owners can't devise a feeding plan to get weight on them, I cannot believe life is good for these senior animals. Sometimes owners just can not do the selfless thing and let these creatures go with their dignity. Already this poor fellow has lost some of his dignity as you & your mom saw him but didn't see a regal animal, but a pitiful, old, skinny creature that looks to be suffering.

I am not here to promote anythingNo, that's not true, I am here to promote everything equestrian and everyone enjoying horses!

Wouldn't bother with the RSPCA as they are utterly useless unless a TV camera is pointed at them!
If I were the owner I'd be fuming that you took it on yourself to touch my horse an d that you clearly strayed off the foot path ( which can count as trespass)
Befit reporting the horse to anyone you need to express your concerns to the owner , for all you know there may be a good reason it is skinny.
Btw feeling ribs is fine on a lean horse and lots of older horses have muscle wastage on thier hind end that can make them look very skinny, my 32 yr old saw the vet regularly and whilst he was very lean he was very happy in himself and the vet was happy with his weightPosted via Mobile Device

Waresbare my skinny old toothless 32 yr old was very happy! He'd happily play with the younger horses and absolutely ruled the yard. He had no teeth, all his fronts had fallen out and his backs were useless, he ate a grass replacer mush and basically hoovered it up. Just because they are old and skinny does not automatically make them unhappyPosted via Mobile Device

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